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The U.S. government had a $182 billion budget surplus in April, confounding market expectations for a deficit, Reuters reported yesterday. The budget surplus was $106 billion in April 2016, according to Treasury's monthly budget statement. The fiscal 2017 year-to-date deficit was $344 billion compared with $353 billion in the same period of fiscal 2016. When accounting for calendar adjustments, the surplus last month was $145 billion compared with an adjusted surplus of $146 billion the prior year. The adjusted deficit for the fiscal year to date was $373 billion compared with $314 billion the prior fiscal year period. Receipts last month totaled $456 billion, up 4 percent from April 2016, while outlays stood at $273 billion, a decrease of 18 percent from the same month a year earlier.

President Donald Trump called for a government shutdown later this year and suggested the Senate might need to prohibit future filibusters, The Washington Post reported yesterday. His latest outbursts could cast a shadow over how Congress approaches numerous bills this year. Trump wants Congress to overhaul the tax code, approve a $1 trillion infrastructure package and raise or suspend the debt ceiling before the government begins falling behind on its obligations. He has made little legislative progress in any of these areas, and he is on the verge of being dealt another stinging defeat as House Republicans splinter on a health care bill for the second time in recent weeks. Trump’s new threats suggest that he will jettison attempts at compromise and instead use the bombastic partisan warfare he employed during his campaign. The threats come after White House officials said they were furious at what they viewed as gloating by Democrats over the terms of a short-term spending bill that funds government operations through Sept. 30. In Twitter posts, Trump said he had to make concessions because Senate rules require 60 votes to pass legislation and that Republicans needed to pick up more seats in the 2018 midterm elections or consider changing filibuster rules so that the Senate’s minority party cannot block bills. “Our country needs a good ‘shutdown’ in September to fix mess!” he wrote. Trump could easily trigger a partial government shutdown in October by directing Republicans not to negotiate with Democrats or by refusing to sign a spending bill that Congress sends him for approval.

Congressional leaders reached a bipartisan agreement to fund the government through September, effectively ending any suspense about the possibility of a government shutdown next weekend, The New York Times reported today. The agreement, which still must be voted on by lawmakers, includes increased funding for the military and for border security. But it does not include funding for the wall that President Donald Trump wants to build along the border with Mexico. The deal increases funding for the National Institutes of Health and provides millions of dollars to reimburse costs incurred by local law enforcement agencies to protect President Trump and his family. The spending package would be the first significant bipartisan measure approved by Congress during the Trump presidency.